


Shaking Legs

by ladylangst



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Gen, Hurt Lance (Voltron), Langst, Space Uncle Coran (Voltron), diabetic lance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-27
Updated: 2018-03-29
Packaged: 2019-03-24 22:21:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 5,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13820646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladylangst/pseuds/ladylangst
Summary: Lance shudders at his thoughts. His condition is a weakness. And if he can’t handle it, then he doesn’t deserve to be a paladin.He stands up, pushing his stool in in the process. His legs are regaining their feeling as he stumbles back to bed. His thoughts wander once again as he climbs under his soft blue blanket…'I have enough insulin to last me for at least another two months.I have nothing to worry about, right?’





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own any of the recognizable characters or places.
> 
> Hi! I hope that you like this!

Lance wakes up covered in a sheen of sweat. It sticks to his skin, suffocating him. His breaths come in rapid, gasping pants. He can’t feel his legs. Black spots float across his vision as he stares at the plain grey ceiling above his bed.

After a few minutes Lance’s breathing slows and he manages to swing the dead weight of his legs over the side of the bed. The soft blue blanket that usually comforts him only serves to hinder his slow, very unstable, trek to his desk.

Reaching for a small blue case hidden well behind his other possessions, Lance finally frees the small black pouch that he needs.

He can’t open the zipper fast enough.

Lance shakily puts a small white strip into his testing device before shakily lifting a poker to his trembling fingers. 

Blood finally comes.

After Lance gently coaxes the blood into the strip all he has to do is wait. 

5…4…3…2…1… 

The number on the screen reads 32 in bright orange figures. Lance isn’t surprised. His legs usually aren’t bad when he has a high reading.

He stuffs the pouch back into the case on his desk before pulling out the cool metal stool and taking a seat. He rummages around in the case until he finds a small pouch of juice. Lance begins chugging it like his life depends on it.

Oh wait, it kind of does.

Lance’s diabetes has been extremely hard to handle in space. He will forever be grateful that his emergency pack was on him when the blue lion took them to the castle, or else things would have gotten bad fast.

Lance should probably tell his team members but he’s been hiding this since before the Garrison. After all, if diabetics can’t join the military, forget going to space. 

Lance has to keep this a secret, if only to continue living his dream. Besides, what would his family think?

Lance can almost hear Allura as she tells him off…

‘Why would we want you as the blue paladin when all you do is cause problems?’ 

'We have a mission Lance, the others shouldn’t have to deal with this.’

'Can’t you do anything right?’

Lance shudders at his thoughts. His condition is a weakness. And if he can’t handle it, then he doesn’t deserve to be a paladin. 

He stands up, pushing his stool in in the process. His legs are regaining their feeling as he stumbles back to bed. His thoughts wander once again as he climbs under his soft blue blanket…

'I have enough insulin to last me for at least another two months. 

I have nothing to worry about, right?’


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I hope that you like it!

Lance’s forehead pulses with pain, bright white lights shine down on him with the intensity of a thousands suns… well, at least it feels that way to him. Not even the cool metal of the dining table can sooth his pain.

He knows that this is entirely his fault. Earlier, Lance had decided to eat some of Hunk’s delicious space cookies, but he didn’t have enough insulin on him for a full dosage. Now Lance is paying for it with a high blood sugar and a killer headache.

“Lance, are you feeling alright?” Shiro asks from his spot across the room, “If you aren’t feeling well you should stay in bed. We can’t afford to be sick if Zarkon attacks.”

Everyone turns to stare at Lance.

He wearily lifts his head, pasting a fake smile on his face. “I’m fine guys, I just have a small headache, most likely from your blinding Beauty Princess.” Lance jokes, sending his signature flirting guns towards Allura.

She sighs in exasperation. “Lance, you should just retire for the night, get some rest so you’ll feel better in the morning” Her voice is laced with annoyance.

Lance just nods, pushing away his untouched dinner. “Goodnight Guys!”

No one replies, Lance decides to just leave it at that, shutting the door of the door of the dining hall gently behind him. 

He holds his head in his hands as he walks down the hall towards his room. counting his echoing steps. 

When he finally reaches his room Lance heads straight for his test kit. His head feels fuzzy as he inserts a strip and pokes his finger.

5…4…3…2…1…

The meter reads 437 in bright orange figures. 

Oh no. Lance really can’t have this high of a blood sugar. It can be really bad for his health.

Sighing, he pulls out a small pen filled with insulin. He twists back the dial until the dosage needed is ready, before uncapping it and pushing the needle into the soft flesh of his arm. He pushes the inject button until all of the medicine has been administered. 

Lance really can’t afford to keep having high blood sugars. That was his last travel pen. All he has left now is one bottle of insulin and a couple of syringes. This is going to get bad fast if he can’t get more insulin.

He doesn’t want to be a burden to the team though…


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope that you enjoy the chapter!

Lance picks gloomily at his pancakes. Delicious, syrupy, sugary pancakes. Well, purple altean pancakes, but pancakes none the less. Too bad that Lance couldn’t eat any of them.

Giving in to his fate, Lance picks up a piece of weird looking meat. Meats were usually a safe low-carb snack, and that meant less insulin use.

The first bite is strange. The meat tastes like a mixture of chicken and bacon. Surprisingly it isn’t too bad. Lance quickly swallows and takes another bite.

Hunk looks at him strangely, but doesn’t comment.

Lance is grateful for that. Hunk is the only other person in the kitchen and a conversation about Lance’s new eating habits would be uncomfortable. Lance looks down and goes back to his bacon hybrid.

The kitchen is blissfully quiet.

As he’s about to start his third piece of “bacon”, the castle’s alarm goes off with a resounding ring.

Hunk and Lance turn to look at each other with concerned expressions before dropping their food and running for their lions. 

The halls seem to pass in a blur as Lance speeds towards the launch hangar. 

When he finally reaches his lion Lance is almost panting. He barely registers Hunk jumping into yellow as he rushes up into Blue. He proceeds to sit in the pilot’s seat and slide on his helmet. Shiro is already giving commands.

“-eith you need to handle the ion canons with Hunk. Pidge and I will take care of crashing their systems from inside. Lance, you should just try to handle some of the fighter drones that they send out. Try not to get in the way please. Everyone copy?”

Shiro’s ears are met with various shouts of agreement. Only one paladin doesn’t respond. 

“Lance, you get that?”

“Yes Shiro.”

“Good. Let’s go team!”

The air is filled with a whirl of air and flying debris as the hangar opens and the paladins of Voltron take flight. No one notices that the Blue lion seems to be lagging behind the others as they rush into the fight.

The Yellow and Red lions charge into the fight with gusto. They crash aggressively against the Galra ship in an attempt to damage the weapons currently being fired at the castle.

Shiro pilots the black lion over to the bottom of the ship where Pidge has already climbed out of the green lion and is cutting a hole in the wall of the ship for means of entrance.

Lance and Blue work like a well oiled machine. They take out several Galra cruisers, firing shots of ice out left and right.

Everything seems to be going just fine. 

Keith and Hunk have moved on to firing at the hull of the ship, combining their lion’s specialty canons in an artful attack of fiery glory.

Pidge and Shiro are speaking in hushed voices over the coms. Lance doesn’t pay them that much attention. He puts all of his focus into taking out the cruisers, and knocking them in front of some of the shots aimed at Hunk and Keith.

Well, he isn’t paying attention until Shiro and Pidge are shouting for assistance.

Lance turns Blue towards the hole where his fellow paladins had entered the enemy ships. A stray cruiser has begun circling the exit, taking shots at Shiro and Pidge whenever they try to make it out.

Lance dives closer, firing several shots at the small ship. When the ship turns to fly closer to him, Red comes out of nowhere and crushes it in her jaws. The black and green paladins make it safely back to their lions just as the Galra ship starts to explode.

The Lions all fly back to the castle while Allura praises them over the video com.

Once in the castle again, all of the members of team Voltron gather near where Allura and Coran are waiting in the lounge. 

“Wonderful job! You were amazing! Keith and Hunk worked together like the paladins of old!” Allura’s voice is filled with kind warmth. “Shiro and Pidge, you were also fantastic, good communication skills!”

Allura’s face drops slightly as she turns to Lance.

“Lance, you shouldn’t have let that cruiser get so close to your fellow Paladins. Please try harder next time.”

Lance looks down in shame as his fellow paladins nod in agreement.

His voice is soft as he whispers “Yes Princess.” She nods at him stiffly.

The others all disperse to their various rooms while Hunk heads to the kitchen to start on making lunch.

Lance just heads back to his room to check his blood sugar.

5…4…3…2…1…

His screen reads 145 in white figures.

‘At least one thing turned out okay today.’ Lance thinks with a bitter smile.

He fails to notice the shadow hovering by his door…


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope that you like it!

Lance doesn’t know what to do.

He’s staring at the empty bottle of test strips in betrayal. How could he forget about test strips?!?! Yeah, insulin is extremely important, but what will he do if he can’t check his blood sugar?

Lance lets out a frustrated groan. He’s so stupid! Gah! He only has half a bottle of insulin left, and no way of checking how wacked up his numbers are. 

Lance starts when he hears a knock.

“Hey Lance, we’re stopping at the space mall for supplies. You’re coming, right?” Coran’s voice is muffled by Lance’s bedroom door.

Lance panics. ‘Y-yeah! I’ll be right there Coran! Just a sec!“ he calls. He grabs his bottle of insulin and fills a syringe without looking. 

'I hope this is enough for lunch…’ he thinks as he shoves it into his arm.

He throws on his jacket and whips the door open. Coran is standing with a raised fist and a shocked expression. One which quickly changes to a smile.

"Ready Lance? Let us go, your fellow paladins are already waiting in the pod.”

Coran grabs Lance’s arm and tugs him down the hall. Lance hopes he doesn’t notice the small flinch that escapes when Coran’s hands slide over his sore arm.

Luckily though, Coran continues to pull Lance roughly down the hall and towards the loading hangar.

'This trip is going to be fun!’ Lance thinks as the doors to the hangar open to reveal his team mates waiting outside the pod. 'What could possibly go wrong?’

 

Everyone immediately scatters as soon as they arrive.

Lance can barely process it as Keith rushes off towards the weapons merchants, Pidge makes a beeline for the tech area of the mall, and Hunk vanishes. Presumably to the food court.

Coran glances back at Lance’s shocked face and chuckles. “Why don’t you come with me? I have to buy some things for our lounge.”

“I mean, I guess I’ll come with you, since you obviously don’t want to go alone. As a paladin of Voltron I’m practically required to go with you. So yeah, let’s go.” Lance hopes his relief doesn’t show in his incredibly awkward speech.

Coran laughs again and starts off. Lance quickly follows him. Soon they reach a strange looking pawn shop. Coran turns to Lance.

“I’ll only be a minute in here, you can look around if you want?”

Lance nods in agreement and starts poking at some random alien-looking things. Coran immediately goes off to haggle with the dude at the counter. Lance scoffs. Allura is going to be mad when she finds out that Coran still tries to gamble about.

He returns to his poking for awhile. Soon though, Lance starts to feel a bit weird. He can’t properly hold anything and his legs feel like he’s wading through sludge.

Oh. 

Oh no.

This can’t be happening. Not here. anywhere but here.

Lance doesn’t have any juice on him right now. Heck, he doesn’t even have his kit! Not that it would help right now anyways. He’s still out of strips.

He glances quickly at Coran, who is still dealing at the counter, before slipping out of the store.

Lance rushes in the direction of the food court. He has a little bit of money on him. Hopefully it will be enough for a cookie or some juice. 

'I must have dosed too much for lunch. Did I even check how much insulin I took?’ Lance can’t remember. 

Black spots start to dance across his vision.

He hears a voice calling after him.

Lance stumbles before sitting down. Hard. His head is spinning.

He barely notices as Coran runs up to him, rummaging furiously in his bag.

Lance does, however, notice when Coran rips open a packet of juice and shoves it towards him with the firm command of;

“Drink!”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! I hope you like this chapter! Thank you so much for all of the comments! I'm having trouble with figuring out how to reply??? But I love reading them!!!

Lance and Coran are now sitting on many of the space mall’s benches watching the many different species of aliens walk by while Lance finished up his juice pouch.

Sipping slowly, Lance slides his eyes over to Coran, who is currently attempting to put together whatever it is that he got from the slightly shady shop.

Lance’s drink pouch crinkles as he finishes the last of it. He tosses it into a nearby trash can. He makes the shot! His victory is short-won though, seeing as Coran decides now is the right time to start a much dreaded conversation.

Lance’s face drops as he turns back to face Coran, his body scrunching in on itself as if to avoid what’s coming.

Coran sighs, “Lance, I believe I owe you an explanation, just as you owe the rest of the team and I one as well.” He looks at Lance with expectation.

Lance nods and drops his eyes to look at his lap. his hands are twisting the fabric of his jacket into a wrinkled mess. 

“I went to check on you the other night after you went to your room, and I witnessed something unusual.” Coran pauses for a minute, “You appeared to be checking your glucose levels. With a very primitive machine yes, but still.”

Lance looks up before turning his head down again. “Y-yes, um, I have diabetes, it’s when your pancreas doesn’t produce any insulin to control the glucose levels in your blood. I don’t know if there was anything similar on Altea…” Lance trails off.

“Yes actually, there was. I used to have a very close friend with a condition like yours, he even had a monitoring device like yours too.” 

“Is that how you know how to help with a low blood sugar?” Lance inquires, his head raising slightly to meet Coran’s eyes.

Coran nods, “Yes indeed. My friend had several mishaps with which I needed to help resolve. After noticing your troubles, I decided to start carrying juice with me again. It’s a good thing I did too.”

Lance almost laughs. “Thank you Coran.”

“It is no trouble Lance. Though, I did have one more thing that I wished to discuss with you.” he pulls out the device from earlier and hands it to Lance.

Lance glances at it questioningly, “Um…?”

“It is a testing device, much like yours only you won’t have to use strips anymore. I thought it might be quite useful. I can show you how to work it when we arrive back at the castle.” Coran looks extremely pleases with himself.

“Thank you Coran.” Lance can feel tears forming in his eyes, but something enters his thoughts. “Um Coran, could we maybe wait a while longer to tell the team please?” 

Coran stares at him for a moment in contemplation. “Yes,” he pauses for a moment, “But you and I will have to discuss your reasons for doing so when we return to the castle, alright?”

Lance swallows hard. “Yes sir.”

Coran sighs and ruffles his hair. “ Come on Lance, it’s time we head back towards the pod now. Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me.”

Lance stands and follows Coran to the exit.

Hopefully everything will be okay…


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! I hope that you like this!

Lance takes a deep breath and glances at Coran, who is perched on the other end of his bed. His eyes are warm, but they don’t calm Lance as much as they should.

Lance pulls his knees up to his chest and scoots as far back against the wall as he can. He really wishes he could avoid this conversation entirely.

Coran lays a gentle hand on Lance’s knee. “You can start whenever you’re ready Lance, but we need to have this conversation.” Coran’s voice is soft but firm. 

Lance raises his head and looks slightly to the side of Coran. he doesn’t want to meet his eyes. “I-I um, well,” Lance clears his throat, “Back on earth, having diabetes seriously limits what you can do. It’s seen as a limitation. Most people who have it can’t join the military or travel for long periods of time because they wouldn’t have access to insulin.”

Lance pauses and looks quickly to Coran. He hums to assure Lance that he is listening. 

“I’ve always dreamed of going to space. Ever since I was a kid. I was only diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when I turned 14. I didn’t want it to ruin my dream.” lance takes a deep breath. 

“So I hid it. From everyone. No one at the garrison knows, no one here knows, only my family and doctors know.”

Coran looks torn. “Lance-”

“No, let me finish.” Lance cuts him off. “I know I’m not the best paladin, and I know that I cause trouble for the others… but I love being a part of this team. I wouldn’t know what to do if they kicked me out Coran. So please, please don’t tell them!”

Lance is looking at Coran now, begging him not to tell. Tears are pooling in his eyes and it breaks Coran’s heart. 

He grips Lance’s hands tightly in his own. “Lance, you are not a burden, You are a valued member of this team, and no one will ever kick you out because of a medical problem that you can’t control. You are part of this family, and if you want to wait to tell them, I’m okay with it. I’ll support you Lance.”

Lance falls forward into Coran’s arms and cries. He has someone. He isn’t alone anymore. This will make things better.

Only… Lance doesn’t fully believe him. He isn’t sure he ever will.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! Please enjoy! I absolutely love reading your comments! They make my day!

Lance doesn’t want to open his eyes. He doesn’t want to wake up and face his problems. If he just pretends that he’s asleep, maybe his blood sugar won’t go out of control. Maybe he won’t run out of insulin.

He opens his eyes and stares at the ceiling above him. Maybe he can pretend. Just for a little bit.

No. He can’t. His team doesn’t need a lazy paladin.

Lance forces himself to flop his legs over the side of his bed. The floor beneath his feet cold. He almost squeals in surprise, but he stops himself. His relief is evident when he slips his feet into his blue lion slippers. 

Lance doesn’t move for awhile after that. He just sits on the edge of his bed. he doesn’t want to get up. 

If he starts his day, then his problems are real again.

Lance starts when some bangs loudly on his door. “Lance!” it’s Shiro. “What are you doing? Breakfast ended thirty minutes ago! Hurry up and get to training!”

Lance tiredly raises his head and calls out; “Okay Shiro! Just a minute!” He has to get up now. He doesn’t want to disappoint Shiro more than he already has. 

His movements are sluggish as he heads over to his desk. He stares at it for a few moments before pulling out the chair and plopping his body down again.

Lance really doesn’t want to make this a reality.

He slowly reaches for his test kit, hidden in the corner of his desk like always. He unzips the pouch and inserts a strip.

He barely feels it when the poker pricks his finger. 

5…4…3…2…1…

The screen reads 278 in bright orange figures.

He has a high blood sugar again. Figures.

Lance sighs and takes out his last bottle of insulin. He fills a syringe and gives himself the proper dosage.

He reaches down to put the bottle away. He stops. The bottle is empty. He doesn’t have any more insulin.

Lance wishes that he can just go back to sleep and dream this away.

But this isn’t a game.

And Lance is in trouble now.

‘Maybe Coran has something to help…’


	8. Chapter 8

Lance really feels that the universe is against him… Well, at least it seems that way as he rushes towards his lion, Coran at his side.

“Lance, we shall figure out a solution as soon as you return! Do not fret about it too much, everything will be okay…” Coran’s voice fades as he runs towards the control deck.

Lance rushes into the hangars and up to Blue. The other paladins are rushing into their lions as well. Lance sees Hunk enter the hangar just as Blue's exits close. Shiro’s voice comes over the coms;

“Okay team, everyone here?”

There is an echo of “Yes!” and a slightly breathy “Y-yeah” from Hunk.

“Alright. Keith, you take down their canons with Hunk. Pidge, you stay near the castle and see who needs the most support. Lance, you’ll come with me to disable their systems from the inside. Everyone got that? Then let’s go!”

The only thing to be heard in the hangar is the rushing of air as the paladins take off.

Lance flies Blue near Shiro as they exit the ship. He gasps in shock when the Galran ship comes into view. It’s massive. The ion canons are three times the size of the ones on regular war ships. Lance can understand why Shiro would have Pidge on backup.

Hunk and Keith immediately start firing at the massive weapons, though it doesn’t seem to do much damage. Lance turns his attention to the ship and flies through the torrent of fighters with Shiro, making his way to the underside of the ship.

Lance jumps out of his seat and exits his Lion as soon as he’s in range of the ship. Shiro is already carving an entrance when he jets over.

“When we get in we’ll head straight to the control deck, Okay? No messing around, this is serious.” Lance pretends not to hear the admonition in Shiro’s voice.

“Yes Sir.”

Shiro manages to open up an entrance and crawls through. He reaches back to help Lance before rising to his feet. He surveys the room as Lance gains his footing as well. 

“Let’s head this way.” He says firmly. Lance nods and they head in the direction of a dimly lit hallway. Lance makes sure to keep his footing light, just in case any drones are on patrol.

About half way down the corridor Shiro stops at a closed door. “This should be it, have your weapon ready.” He lifts his Galra hand and chops off the lock.

Lance raises his bayard as they creep quietly into the dark room. Too bad that it won’t be enough to save them.

As soon as they enter the door slams shut behind them. The room goes pitch black. The sound of bodies dropping to floor begins, and Lance hear the pounding footsteps as they’re surrounded.

“Shiro!” Lance exclaims when someone roughly grabs his wrist.

“It’s me! We have to go back! Come o-” The hand is ripped away from Lance. He hears a thud.

“Shi-” Lance feels a hand over his mouth, a needle is jabbed into his neck, and everything fades away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi Guys! I really hope that you liked it! It's almost over!! I love reading all of your comments! Thank you so much!!! I hope all of you have an amazing day!


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I hope that you guys like it!!!

Lance is in darkness.

The only sounds around him are the heavy breaths from Shiro and his own shallow pants. The darkness is suffocating. 

Lance shifts uncomfortably on his metal cot. He’d get up and move, but he can’t see. Lance would hate to accidentally step on Shiro while he’s injured. Especially because the Black paladin is unable to tell Lance about the extent of his injuries. It’s really a bad situation all around.

Lance slowly sits up and pulls his legs to his chest. Moving is harder than usual. It must be whatever the Galra soldiers injected into him. The effects could probably last for hours. 

Lance shuts his eyes against the darkness and tries to slow his breathing. The sound of his heart beating frantically in his chest makes him feel nauseous and dizzy. His hands shake against his knees.

Lance hisses out a breath and allows his legs to fall on the cot. He twists so that he’s laying on his back. The darkness crawls against his skin. Lance can do nothing as it seems to pull his limbs down. His legs feel like dead weight. 

Lance’s breathing speeds up.

“Oh no.” This can’t be happening. 

This feeling isn’t new to Lance. This has happened before.

Lance beats his fist weakly against the cot. The echoing clang only makes his situation more substantial. He begins to hyperventilate. Tears pool in his eyes and Lance feels the world spinning around himself. Anything would be better than this. He really doesn’t want to believe that this is reality. Anything but this…

Because Lance is trapped in a Galra ship. Alone except for his unconscious leader. 

And he has a low blood sugar.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is so short! Sorry!

A strangled gasp echoes around the room as Shiro jolts awake, sweat pouring down his brow. His eyes flit frantically around the small cell as he takes in his surroundings. He curses under his breath and slowly begins to stand. 

He shakily makes his way towards Lance, who appears to be passed out on a thin metal cot. As Shiro comes closer, Lance’s figure becomes clearer, and Shiro immediately drops down by his side.

The usually glowing teen is covered in a slick layer of sweat. His skin is deathly pale and Shiro isn’t sure what to think of the violent shudders that wrack Lance’s body. He slowly lifts a hand to Lance’s forehead. It's cold and clammy. 

Shiro gently begins to shake Lance’s shoulders. “Lance, hey buddy, could you please wake up? Come on Lance…” He sighs in defeat as Lance continues to have what appear to be small seizures. 

Shiro doesn’t know what to do. Could this be a reaction to whatever the Galra gave them? It didn't seem to have this much of an effect on Shiro, but Lance is only half his size. Shiro worriedly runs a hand through his hair. 

He has to get them out of here. He moves over to the door, where a small barred window looks out into the corridor. Two guards are stationed right outside the room with a security camera on the wall facing the door.

If he tries to bust through here they’ll be taken down in seconds. If only Lance could help… no. Shiro is the only one here to fix the situation, and he’s going to make sure that they get back to the castle safely. After all, it is his fault that Lance is even in this situation.

He glances around the room one more time, noticing their helmets in the corner. He quietly walks over and picks one up. The comms have been slashed with some sort of knife, but they still appear functional otherwise.

He slips his over his head before sliding Lance’s on over the teen’s slick head. Shiro glances one more time at the door before lifting Lance into his arms, taking care to support his head.

It’s now or never. Shiro goes to the far wall and activates his arm. He takes a breath and plunges into the metal. He slices the ship’s wall like butter. Immediately the air is sucked from the room. Shiro secures Lance tightly to his chest and allows himself to be pulled into space with Lance in tow.

They’re going to make it out of this. Shiro is going to make sure of it.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope that you guys like this!

Shiro’s breaths come out in quick puffs that fog up his helmet. His arms are stiff and ache from holding Lance for so long. The cold surrounding them is near unbearable and Shiro is starting to lose feeling in his legs. He had tried to readjust his position several times, but each time it caused Lance to block Shiro’s jets.The suit’s only mode of transportation are whirring with the effort of trying to tow both of the paladins across space, and Shiro doesn’t want to make it worse.

His eyes drift closed as he breathes out again. When he reopens them, they immediately fix onto the blue paladin’s face. Shiro doesn’t know what’s wrong with him, but Lance hasn’t so much as stirred since the escape. It’s extremely worrying, especially with the freezing temperatures around them.

Shiro knows that the suits are supposed to regulate their body heat, but something must have been damaged when they were captured. Shiro’s suit certainly isn't working properly. He doubts that Lance’s is either. And with the amount of time they’ve been out here…it’s not looking good. 

They’ve been adrift for around two hours now, the only break had been when Shiro managed to pull them to close to the debris of a destroyed planet. He had pulled out the two packs of nutrition gel that he stores in his suit for emergencies and had given one to Lance before eating the other himself. It had seemed to help Lance for a while, but his condition is starting to get worse again.

Shiro sighs and looks around the, once more. All he sees is nothingness. He’s been hoping that they’d run into a ship of some sort to take them back to the castle of lions. It seems hopeless now though. 

‘This is all my fault’ Shiro thinks. He can’t believe that he got his teammate into this much trouble. What kind of a leader is he? Shiro doesn’t know anymore. 

His eyes drift closed again. Shiro can feel his grip slackening. He’s so cold. He tries to blink a bit. His vision is blurring. He’s so tired and cold. 

Shiro just manages to see a flash of blue light before his mind goes dark. Hopefully Lance will be okay.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading my fic! I hope that you liked it! If you search the story on tumblr you should be able to find me!

When Lance wakes, he’s surrounded by his friends. He’s propped up on one of Coran’s med tables. His mouth tastes like old sugar. He slowly blinks his eyes and attempts to move from the arms that are holding him in place. His friends move away with reluctance. They’re all looking at him with concerned expressions.

Shiro is the first one to speak.

“Lance, I would like to apologize for the position that I put you in today, but first I believe that you have something that you might want to tell the rest of the team?”

Lance swallows hard and turns to look at Coran, who’s standing by his shoulder. The Altean just nods at Lance while smiling gently. Lance can feel Coran’s hand slip into his as he turns back to the group. 

“I would- um- I should probably let you guys know that I’m a type one diabetic. It’s a uh, condition where my pancreas doesn’t produce insulin, so I have to monitor the amount of sugar in my blood.” Lance takes a breath and looks down, afraid to see their expressions. 

 

He jolts when he feels a hand on his arm, it’s Hunk. Lance looks up into his best friend’s eyes, and finds nothing but concern. 

“Lance, buddy, why didn’t you tell us sooner? You could have died because of this!” 

 

Pidge leans forward and looks Lance in they eye with a hurt expression on their face. “Yeah, don’t you trust us Lance?” 

“Of course I trust you!” Lance exclaims, “It’s just that I was afraid if I told you, you guys wouldn’t want me on the team anymore, because of the issues I could cause…”

 

Hunk and Pidge look at Lance like he’s crazy. “Lance, we would never do that to you! You’re a part of the team! We would never be able to replace you!”

Keith clears his throat and joins the conversation. “Yeah, you’re our sharpshooter Lance. You’ve saved all of us on multiple occasions, with your diabetes. Why would that change if we knew about it?”

Lance looks at Keith, shocked. He has a point though, why would that change anything? Lance looks at the open faces of his friends and then to Shiro, who’s smiling warmly at him. 

“You’ll always be a part of this team Lance, no matter what. And I’m glad that we can help you now. No one should have to deal with a serious medical condition alone. We’re here to support you Lance. You don’t have to handle it alone.” With that, the whole team wraps Lance in a group hug. 

He’s never been happier.


End file.
